Easy opening container



June 17, 1969 F, STEC ETAL 3,450301 EASY OPENING CONTAINER Filed Feb. 19, 1968 IN VEN TORS FREDERICK J. STEC :gor M. WESTPHAL ATT'Y United States Patent ice 3,450,301 EASY OPENING CONTAINER Frederick J. Stec, Oak Lawn, and Teddy M. Westphal,

Park Forest, 111., assignors to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 706,446 Int. Cl. B6511 17/24, 21 /02 U.S. Cl. 220-54 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates in general to new and useful improvements in container construction and more particularly to a novel container of the easy opening type.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an easy opening cover structure with means for permitting the stacking of containers thereon in a manner such that the stacked containers remain in vertical alignment.

Easy opening containers of the type to which the present invention relates have commonly been constructed with a tear portion to which a pull tab is attached for removing the tear portion from the panel. Normally the pull tab lies in a superposed position over the tab and presents an irregular surface which is elevated above the panel surface. Under these conditions a stacked container particularly of the type which does not have a rim, when placed on the easy opening cover member, tends to tilt relative to the underlying container. Such tilting prevents the stacking of containers one upon the other for storage and display purposes.

In accordance with the present invention, it is proposed to provide an easy opening cover construction in which there is provided a plurality of projections which are spaced from the pull tab and arranged to engage an underside of a container adapted to be stacked thereon in a manner to provide a supporting surface which maintains the stacked containers in vertical alignment with the underlying container.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top perspective view of an easy opening container formed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 22 of FIG. 1 and showing in particular the relationship of the height of the projections and the upper surfaces of the pull tab; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of two stacked containers and showing in particular the manner in which the projections serve to provide a support surface for maintaining the upper stacked can in vertical alignment with the underlying can.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is shown two stacked easy opening containers each including a can body 11 which may be formed by drawing to provide a bottom 12 formed integral with the side wall 13. Secured to the open end of the container as by a double seam is a can end or cover member 14. The cover member 14 includes an end panel 16 of which a major por- Patented June 17, 1969 tion 17 thereof is removable. The removable panel portion or tear is defined by a peripheral score line 18. A second score or anti-fracture score line 19 which serves to relieve the stresses in the primary score line 18 is concentrically formed in the panel 16. The anti-fracture score 19 is of lesser depth than the primary score 18 so that fracture occurs at the latter.

In order to facilitate the rupture of the end panel 16 and the tearing out of the removable or tear panel portion 17, there is provided a pull tab 21. The pull tab 21 is formed from a single piece of sheet metal and is fixedly secured to the removable panel portion 17 by means of a rivet 22 formed integral with the latter.

The pull tab 21 includes a forward portion '23 and a rear grip portion 24. The portions 23 and 24 are connected together by a transverse cross bar 26 which is common to the two portions of the pull tab.

The grip portion 24 is in the form of a finger ring and has a finger receiving opening 27. The finger receiving opening 27 is defined by a downwardly and radially outwardly turned curl 28. Around the periphery of the grip portion 24, the sheet metal of the pull tab 21 is folded or curled to define a hem 29. The hem '29 co-operates with the curl 28 to rigidify the grip portion 24 and at the same time to eliminate all exposed raw edges both internally and externally.

The forward portion 23 is reinforced by an upstanding rib 31 which extends entirely thereabout. The rib 31 includes an inner flange 32, a web 33 and a peripheral depending flange 34. The flange 34 of the forward portion 23 is a continuation of the hem 29. It is also to be noted that the inner flange 32 forms one boundary of the cross bar 26 while the curl 28 forms the opposite boundary thereof.

The rib 31 defines a planar recessed attaching portion 36 to which the rivet 22 is secured. An attaching panel 37 may be provided in the attaching portion 36 and is defined by a generally U-shaped cut 38 which opens across the forward end of the pull tab '21. The cut 38 terminates at the opposite ends thereof in transversely aligned generally opposed reversely turned portions 39. The attaching panel 37 has an opening 41 for receiving the rivet 22 as best shown in FIG. 2.

The forward portion 23 of the pull tab terminates at its forward end in the nose 42 having a radius of curvature substantially the same as that of the portion of the primary score line 18 with which the pull tab 21 is aligned. It is to be noted further that the nose 42 is disposed in matching aligned relation with respect to the score line 18 when the pull tab 21 is in its operative position, as shown in phantom lines.

The grip portion 24 which is shaped in the form of a ring is formed with an upwardly offset portion 43 to provide a finger access thereto, and thereby facilitate the initial lifting of the pull tab 21.

To take up the looseness of metal in the panel created by the scoring, there is provided an axial depression 44 which receives the grip portion 24 of the pull tab 21. The axial depression 44 may be formed with a pair of pro i'ectilng beads 46 to maintain the pull tab substantially eve From the foregoing description of the pull tab 21 it is readily apparent that the structure of the latter including the rib 31, curl 28 and hem 29 creates an uneven and irregular surface which is elevated above the outer surface of panel 16. The uneven surface creates a stacking problem particularly when the containers 10 do not have a bottom rim or have a bottom diameter less than the top diameter as typified by the drawn container body 11 shown in FIG. 3. The drawn container body 11 is formed with an integral bottom which is nestable within the rim or double seam of the cover 14 and is formed with a plurality of circumferential and concentric reinforcing ribs 45.

To overcome the stacking problem, there is provided a plurality of upstanding protuberances or stacking projections 47 which are spaced to engage and provide support for the underside of the upper stacked container 10 to maintain the latter in vertical alignment with an underlying container.

As shown, the stacking projections 47 are formed in the tear portion 17 of the panel 16 inwardly of the score lines 18 and 19 and radially outward of the axial depression 44. The projections 47 are each formed more or less in the configuration of a frusturn of a cone having a substantially top planar surface 49. The top planar surfaces 49 each lie in the same horizontal plane as the surfaces of the tab on which the bottom of a stacked container 10 rests. In this manner the projections 47 compensate for the uneven surface caused by the pull tab 21 to maintain the stacked container in Vertical alignment with the underlying container. Moreover, the upwardly extending projections 47 formed in the panel also serve to take up further loose metal created by the score lines 18 and 19 and thereby further stiffen the tear portion 17 to facilitate the removal thereof.

We claim:

1. In an easy opening container a cover member including a panel, weakening line means formed in said panel and defining a tear portion removable from said panel, a pull tab fixed to said tear portion and normally overlying said panel and presenting a surface vertically spaced above the surface of said panel, and a plurality of upwardly projecting protuberances formed in said tear portion and spaced from said pull tab to provide a support surface at substantially the same level as said vertically spaced tab surface is spaced above said panel so as to be engageable with the bottom of a container adapted to be stacked thereon for maintaining the stacked containers in vertical alignment.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said protuberances are each in the form of frusto-conical projections.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said tear portion is formed with an axial depression and said 'protuberances are disposed in spaced relationship to said axial depression.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,822,952 2/1958 Scott 22097 3,221,923 12/1965 Bozek 22097 3,366,270 1/1968 Khoury 22054 GEORGE T. HALL, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 22097 

